LOS ANGELES—Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Los Angeles and throughout Southern California on June 14 to protest the policies of the Trump administration in the nationwide “No Kings Day of Defiance” demonstrations.

Multiple demonstrations were taking place across Los Angeles, Long Beach, Santa Monica, and other sites in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties. The largest crowd was expected in downtown Los Angeles, where a march began at about 10:30 a.m. and worked its way down Broadway, entering Pershing Square at about 11:30 a.m.

Streets were closed in the area and many bus routes were interrupted.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Police Chief Jim McDonnell held a morning news conference to urge the crowds to remain lawful and to ensure the public that adequate resources were in place to keep the peace.

Bass said public safety agencies “pre-deployed and pre-positioned” in preparation for the demonstrations, which are meant as a counterpoint to a planned military parade in Washington, D.C. on the evening of June 14 that coincides with President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.

Bass said the Los Angeles Fire Department was keeping the previous night’s shift on call “to ensure we have the maximum number of personnel to effectively support our entire city,” and is deploying resources to ensure medical assistance and firefighting support if needed.

The California Highway Patrol is also continuing to provide enhanced support, and the city’s Emergency Operations Center is coordinating logistics and is “poised to escalate” to a higher level of operations if necessary, Bass said.

The mayor repeated her call for protesters to remain peaceful.

“Please, please do not give the administration an excuse to intervene. Let’s make sure we show the world the best of Los Angeles and our country,” she said.

The mayor earlier said the nightly 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew covering a one-square-mile section of downtown Los Angeles would remain in place indefinitely.

The “No Kings” events are billed as a peaceful way to oppose “authoritarianism and show the world what democracy really looks like,” say organizers at 50501, a national group that stands for 50 protests, 50 states, one movement.

“They’ve defied our courts, deported Americans, disappeared people off the streets, attacked our civil rights, and slashed our services,” according to a website for the event, referring to the Trump administration. “The corruption has gone too. far. No thrones. No crowns. No kings.”

The Orange County Republican Party had a different view.

“We agree that there should be no kings. And here in California, we’ve seen authoritarianism. The leftists flooding the streets today are protesting the wrong man,” the party said in a post on X, accompanied by a graphic depicting California Gov. Gavin Newsom sitting on a throne and dressed like a king.

The rally at Los Angeles City Hall was taking place near the scene of recent clashes between law enforcement and protesters around immigration issues. Trump has deployed thousands of troops, including 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines, to Los Angeles, citing a need to support local law enforcement.

Although the protests were planned as a counterpoint to the June 14 military parade in Washington, D.C., the Los Angeles gatherings were focused largely on Trump’s immigration policies, in light of the week-long and frequently violent protests that took place after federal immigration enforcement operations on June 6.

Trump and U.S. Homeland Security officials have defended the immigration operations. The president won the elections in 2016 and 2024 on a platform of securing the southern border and deporting those in the United States illegally, and officials have said many of those targeted in the operations have long criminal histories.

“The Biden Administration and Governor Newscum flooded America with 21 Million Illegal Aliens, destroying Schools, Hospitals and Communities, and consuming untold Billions of Dollars in Free Welfare. All of them have to go home, as do countless other Illegals and Criminals, who will turn us into a bankrupt Third World Nation,” Trump posted June 13 on Truth Social.

“America was invaded and occupied. I am reversing the Invasion. It’s called Remigration. Our courageous ICE Officers, who are daily being subjected to doxxing and murder threats, are HEROES. We will always have their back as they carry out this noble mission. America will be for Americans again!”

A full list of nationwide demonstration sites can be found at nokings.org/.